Why Baptists Believe in Separation of Church and State

As the election draws near the discussion about the appropriate protection of religious freedoms will continue to rage. This topic matters to us—a lot. Religious freedom is a historical novelty and is still denied to billions in our world today.

Most credit the historical genesis of the idea of the separation of Church and State to Martin Luther and his concept of Two Kingdoms. The Anabaptists took Luther’s idea and pushed it to its extreme. English Baptists in the early 1600s wrote that the King has no jurisdiction over the church. John Locke promoted the idea from a philosophical perspective. Roger Williams, Baptist minister and the founder of Rhode Island, advocated for it in 17th Century colonial America. Practically, we have our religious freedoms now because colonial Baptists insisted upon it. But on what basis did they demand it?

While early Baptists and Separatists suffered persecution at the hands of the State, it is easy to assume that suffering produced this belief that is now considered one of the Baptist distinctives. That assumption would be wrong. Doctrine—and Baptists treat the separation of Church and State as a doctrine—must flow from scripture, not historical experience. So how do we get separation of Church and State from the Bible?

An argument from silence.

While the Old Testament lays out the framework for a Theocracy the New Testament annuls it. Paul proclaimed that New Testament believers were no longer under the Law (Galatians 3). The law failed as a societal structure, but succeeded in its intended purpose to demonstrate the sinful helplessness of humanity. The New Testament Church is given no commands regarding civil government except that as much as possible believers should obey it. There is no instruction to infiltrate government or set up laws. In fact, the Church is commanded to keep its own internal matters separate from civil government (1 Corinthians 6:1-8).

Some might interpret prophecies regarding the Kingdom as an indication of a Christian governmental system, but that is reserved for when Jesus returns and rules Himself. Of course, this assumes a literal future Kingdom.

An argument from other Baptist beliefs.

Baptists believe in the autonomy of the local church and congregational church government. While there are many New Testament passages to which we appeal, the Matthew church discipline passage clearly establishes the local body as the highest ecclesiastical court of appeal (Matthew 18:15-20). It recognizes no other denominational structure in authority over the local body.

Denominational control of the church over government or the government over a church requires a denominational structure that goes beyond the local body. This is why State churches, wherever they exist in the world, are characterized by a hierarchical (rather than congregational) form of church government.

Baptists also believe in individual soul liberty and responsibility. We maintain that the word of God as applied by the Holy Spirit is the ultimate authority in the life of a believer. No pastor, church body, or governmental leader can override the conscience of the individual. Every person has the right to obey God according to the dictates of his own conscience as long as that obedience does not infringe on the ability of others to do the same. We are not post-modernists. We do not believe everyone is right in what they believe or do. We believe that everyone has a right to worship God according to their conscience even if they are in error. We can, for instance, oppose many Roman Catholic doctrines and at the same time stand for a Roman Catholic’s right to believe those doctrines.

Evangelism is an essential aspect of our New Testament responsibility before God. Restrictions regarding sharing our faith deny us our religious rights. However, we cannot claim the right to share our faith without granting others the same privilege. Armed with the truth of the Word of God and the power of the Holy Spirit, we welcome the opportunity to compete for souls in the free market of religious ideas.

The doctrine of soul liberty and responsibility demands the separation of the State from the Church. No one denominational group should have a right to assert authority over other churches or individuals.

These two doctrines–the autonomy of the local church and individual soul liberty/responsibility–demand that Baptists oppose both the establishment of a State Church and restrictions upon religious liberty. We are greatly blessed to have these freedoms purchased at great cost through the sacrifices of previous generations. Stewardship demands that we do all that we can—including participating in the political process—to preserve these freedoms.